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Fresh allegations of illegal lobbying on behalf of Italian defence company must be fully investigated

6th June 2018, London – New allegations made by Corruption Watch U.K. that British intermediaries took corrupt payments from an Italian defence company, to secure defence contracts in South Korea, must be fully examined by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office and where wrong-doing is established prosecutions should follow.

“’These are strong and long standing allegations about significant crimes having been committed, and need to be properly examined by the authorities in the jurisdictions concerned, which means the Serious Fraud Office in the UK. We also encourage UK MoD to fully consider the use of their procurement exclusion powers and whether the company should be temporarily suspended from MoD bidding while these matters are investigated. If wrongdoing is found to have occurred, the full weight of the law should be used against the individuals involved, any senior officers of the company who were complicit, and the company itself.”

“The use of third parties in defence deals has long presented a significant corruption risk and this case demonstrates the need for more consistent transparency requirements in export policies around the use of payment of agents.”